The bride walked down the aisle to meet new husband Gary Cloney following a short walk to the church from her home in Mulrankin.

Dedicated player Sharon, who first played for Wexford against Laois in 1999, said she was reluctant to let her teammates play without her in the Leinster Championship Opener against London on Sunday.

'I was stressed about missing the match at first. I wished the girls all the best so I'm fine now,' Sharon told this newspaper, moments before she walked down the aisle to meet her new husband.

The bride, who wore a fitted lace gown from Eton Manor in Enniscorthy, was supported by her bridesmaids - sister Fiona and friends, Claire Carthy and Regina Kielty. They said they helped Sharon through recent months with some 'small surprises', including a pair of earrings that she wore on the day.

But it wasn't only the bride who arrived in style; Gary and his groomsmen travelled to the church on a tractor, owned by Jimmy Staples, best man and Gary's lifelong friend. Speaking on the day of his wedding, Gary said he wasn't nervous as everything was organised.

'I didn't have to do anything this morning,' he laughed. 'It was all done for me.'

Two hundred and forty guests attended the wedding, including Aisling O'Byrne, Sharon's friend and former teammate. According to Aisling, everyone had been waiting for the wedding for 'a long time'.

'They've been together for fourteen years, since we were in school in Bridgetown,' she said. 'They were a lovely couple then and they still are.'

Mary, Sharon's mother agreed that the couple were 'well-matched' and said that she was looking forward to having Gary as 'an official member of the family'. Despite feeling 'emotional' on the day, Mary said she was trying to take her daughter's advice.

'The one thing she said to me this morning was "don't cry mammy",' laughed Mary.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held in the Riverbank House Hotel where according to Gary's mother Margaret, guests celebrated 'the romance of the century'.